To watch Senator Capito’s interview, click here or on the image above.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), appeared on ABC News where she discussed the recent all-women, bipartisan Congressional Delegation (CODEL) that she led to the Indo-Pacific region. During the trip, the delegation engaged with senior leaders throughout the region to discuss a variety of topics, including domestic and international security matters. The members also engaged with senior leaders at the Women’s World Cup to discuss the empowerment of women and girls. Additionally, the delegation visited the headquarters of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and received briefings regarding Hawaii’s wildfire response.

Following the CODEL, Senator Capito penned an op-ed with U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.-06) about the interconnectedness of global security and women’s empowerment through American values-based leadership. The op-ed can be found here.

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:

ON DEFENSE: “We really got to talk about the fortification of our allies, our like-interests, and the military exercises that we have been doing all summer together. I think it was a very insightful trip to help in good decision making. But, I think it also reinforced, to me and to all of us, that we have real challenges there. We need to have a strong military presence, we need to have cybersecurity and the technologies available so that we can be ready if needed, and we feel like we will be ready when the time comes.”

ON WOMEN EMPOWERMENT: “I was one of the leaders on ‘Equal Pay for Equal Pay for Team U.S.A.’ In other words, lets equalize not just pay, but also benefits for our U.S.A. teams, and the U.S.A. Women’s Soccer Team had obviously led the way on that.

“The good news is, that the women’s leadership globally with team sports, with countries cheering, with coliseums and stadiums filled with families and young girls, it shows you the empowerment of women. What team sports can do in terms of bringing nations together closer, and the U.S. has been leading in this.”

ON HAWAII WILDFIRES: “What a tragedy, just unimaginable. We were with General Flynn, who is in charge of the joint response to help the National Guard and other responders to meet the challenges. We went to a briefing, talked with him about it very extensively.”

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